The Imperial Palace, the Cold Palace!
"Who are you?"
Lan Yue'er pressed herself against the wall, mottled with moss, covering her injured abdomen with her hand, and looked vigilantly at the woman who had suddenly appeared and saved her from the hands of the Prince Regent's dark guards.
The woman took off her cloak and turned around.
The moment she saw the woman, Lan Yue'er's pupils dilated several times: "It's you? You're still alive? Then..."
"Yue'er, it's really been a long time."
The woman's voice carried a hint of emotion. She looked at Lan Yue'er, and her memories, flowing through the river of time, overlapped her childhood appearance with her current self. When Miao疆 was wiped out by Da Li, she was only seven or eight years old. Now she had grown into a tall and graceful young woman!
"Yin... Aunt Lan."
Lan Yue'er's voice was a little strained. The woman before her was Yin Si Lan, the youngest clan leader of the Yin clan at that time!
"You... why?"
Weren't all the people of the Yin clan dead in that massacre?
"Why am I not dead?"
Yin Si Lan couldn't help but let out a cold laugh. She sat on a chair, and the scene of ravaged land and scattered corpses seemed to reappear before her eyes.
The elders of the Yin clan desperately tore open a defense line and sent her out.
The general who had besieged Miao疆 at that time, for fear of incurring the wrath of the Da Li sovereign, had desperately concealed this matter. The Lan family... the Lan family had survivors because of their Gu worms.
The word "love" was enough to drive people mad.
She thought, her gaze fell on Lan Yue'er. She really didn't expect to see Lan Yue'er in the palace. She didn't continue speaking, nor did she explain why she was still alive. What she cared more about was how Lan Yue'er had managed to sneak into the palace.
"I disguised myself as Nan Yuan'er's maid and sneaked in."
Compared to the Nan family, Lan Yue'er naturally preferred to trust Yin Si Lan. She didn't feel the need to hide something as insignificant as this. Why should she cover up for the Nan family?
"The Nan family?"
Lan Yue'er nodded and said, "After our Miao疆 tribesmen were mostly dead or injured, I had no one to protect me for my coming-of-age ceremony. So, during the ceremony, I suffered a backlash from the Gu worm and was seriously injured. It was then that Nan Chao Yin saved me and brought me back to the Nan Mansion."
"A while ago, Nan Chao Yin asked me to do something for him."
"Control Mu Baiyu with Gu worms."
"Mu Baiyu?"
Yin Si Lan's expression froze, and she pressed further, "Did he tell you the reason?"
Lan Yue'er nodded: "He mentioned it. He said the emperor wanted to control Prince Gong's mansion, but Prince Gong's mansion has always maintained neutrality over the years, remaining unyielding, so extraordinary measures had to be taken."
"Ji Hong?"
Yin Si Lan frowned slightly.
So, Ji Hong knew about this? He knew that Nan Chao Yin's mansion harbored a Miao疆 Gu master?
Lan Yue'er didn't understand why Yin Si Lan was so surprised. In her opinion, this was a very normal thing. When a ruler is pushed to such a point, they naturally have to use some extraordinary means.
Didn't their Gu masters always take pride in this?
Yin Si Lan didn't say much more. She raised her hand and rubbed her temples, contemplating whether to let Lan Yue'er stay in the palace.
"You... hide in the Cold Palace for a while longer."
The people from the Prince Regent's mansion and Nan Chao Yin both knew her appearance. If she were to appear openly in the palace, it would only lead them to trace her back and discover something. Moreover, it was not suitable for her to leave the palace at this moment. Who knew if the Prince Regent's mansion had ambushed outside the palace?
Lan Yue'er looked at Yin Si Lan and asked no further questions, nodding slowly.
...
The Nan Mansion!
"Father, that maid..."
After her maid left the main hall, she never returned. Nan Yuan'er looked at Nan Chao Yin, wanting to ask if the events in the palace today were related to their Nan mansion and that maid.
"Yuan'er, so many things have happened today, you must be tired. Go back to your room and rest!" Nan Chao Yin replied patiently. He didn't want to talk much about today's events. He just wanted to contact Qing Yuan quickly and ask her what exactly had happened.
As for that Lan Yue'er...
He frowned.
"Father..."
Nan Chao Yin's obviously perfunctory reaction made a look of unwillingness appear on Nan Yuan'er's face.
"Enough!"
Nan Chao Yin raised his eyebrows impatiently, "You may go!"
Nan Yuan'er bit her lip, suppressed the surging emotions in her heart, and clenched her fists so tightly that her knuckles turned pale from the force.
"Yes, Father."
She lowered her head and left the study.
...
The Marquis of Xunyang's Mansion.
A joyous occasion suddenly turned into a funeral.
After Zhang Si Lang returned from the Imperial Palace, he had not spoken a word. Others thought he was overwhelmed with grief, but only he knew that he was suppressing, suppressing the madness to expose everything and plunge the world into chaos.
It was the Prince Regent's wife, the princess of Da Li! Yet the culprit behind all this was his own mother.
He could not say it, nor could he.
If he spoke, not only would the world be thrown into turmoil, but their entire Marquis of Xunyang's mansion would have to pay a heavy price for today's events.
Filled with both anger and sorrow, Zhang Si Lang suddenly coughed up a mouthful of blood and collapsed on the ground.
"Someone, come quickly! Young Master has fainted, quickly!"
The mourning hall of the Marquis of Xunyang's mansion was thrown into a state of chaos.
...
Zhang Si Lang slowly woke up from his unconsciousness. The room was dim. He stared blankly at the ceiling. Hot tears dripped from the corners of his eyes, falling onto the pillow.
He let the tears flow, crying silently, quietly. Until the pillow was damp, revealing the corner of an envelope.
He was slightly stunned, got up, and took out the letter from under the pillow.
After unfolding it, he saw the contents.
My son, if you are reading this letter, it means I am no longer here. Do not cry, do not be sad for your mother. This was my own choice.
Before I decided to do this, I had already foreseen this outcome. But I have no regrets, and please do not blame yourself. This has nothing to do with you; it is merely my mother's obsession.
Also, no matter how I die, or by whose hand I die, do not think of avenging me. There is no need. I only hope that you fulfill your responsibilities and live your life diligently and earnestly.
Only then can I rest in peace.
Son, in my life, only at the moment you came into this world did I truly live. Rather than saying I gave you life, it is more accurate to say that you gave me a new life.
So you really don't need to feel guilty.
Son, do not worry.
I am free!
Truly free!